The Untold Story
by Dracoismysexgod
Summary: With the war beginning, the secrets of the past must come out. This picks up where book 6 left off as well as reveals the dark romance that happened behind the scenes at Hogwarts without changing anything JK Rowling wrote.
1. Killing Shadows

Disclaimer: If Harry Potter belonged to me, my life would be complete…but hey, once the seventh book is out, my life will be pretty damn good! Everything belongs to JK Rowling.

Title: The Untold Story

Summary: The war goes on after Dumbledore's death, with Hermione by Harry's side and Draco in hiding after his inability to kill the headmaster. The quest to find the Horcruxs is underway, but at the same time, the story from the moment the young wizards started school is unraveling from Hermione and Draco's point of view. And their story is one deeply hidden in shadow and fear.

Author's Note: This is a very strange concept, I know, but I will be completely 100 true to the books, only changing what was never said to begin with. Lines from the book will be used. This is the story JK Rowling never told, the one that doesn't follow Harry but explores what happens when Hermione and Draco are not in the narrative. It is told from their perspective, with their hidden thoughts that we don't know about in the actual book. So, with that said, if I get any information wrong (which I am hoping I will not because I am researching this pretty extensively by reading the books and taking notes on them), please let me know and I will fix it ASAP. Also, I'm going to be putting in a lot of what I feel should happen in the seventh book, although I won't answer every single question we all have, and a lot will be added that would never happen in the actual book, as the point of the story isn't to be the seventh book but to focus on Hermione and Draco. This is rated T for now, but I may switch it to M later. Thanks for reading!! One more note: for those who read my story _Go to the Devil_, I WILL be updating that soon, I just have to have a bit of inspiration hit me.

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Chapter One

Killing Shadows

_This is our untold story._

Sunlight crept in the window, seeping through and killing the shadows the night had bred. It was rather symbolic, the still figure in the corner of the small room mused. It was what they were setting out to do…kill the shadow with light. Eliminate the force who would throw the entire world into darkness if he had his way. Capture the servants of this dark creature…every single one.

The light slowly made its way up the boy in the bed's body, caressing the quilt he was curled up underneath, easing the tense lines the night's dreams had brought on. His black hair shined softly as he instinctively turned over, hiding from the light that would wake him and plunge back into the world where his troubled dreams were carried over into reality.

Hermione heard someone else in the house moving, and slowly uncurled herself from the uncomfortable chair in the corner, stretching out her aching muscles. She allowed the light to hit her, but it wasn't nearly as kind as it had been to Harry. She quickly shut her eyes against the sharp pain that one who has become accustomed to darkness feels when the light assaults them once more. It illuminated the dark circles underneath her eyes and the shallow hollows beneath her cheekbones.

A soft knock forced the girl to slowly open her eyes and she walked quietly to the door. Opening it, she found Ron, smiling at her sleepily.

"How is he?" The question, however simple it might have seemed, was a loaded one. Harry was by no means alright…witnessing Dumbledore's death had taken its toll. When he had returned to the Dursley's to get as much protection as he could from the magic his former headmaster had provided, the Order had moved in with him, setting up a small operation camp. They wanted Harry to be the first to hear any new information and they needed to be able to look after him, as his mentally weakened state would be altogether too easy for Voldemort to attempt to enter again. Of course, the Dursleys had been far from happy at this turn of events, but arguing with a group of fully-grown wizards had proved to be too much for them and they were currently going about their lives and ignoring the group as much as humanly possible.

"It wasn't too bad of a night, the usual nightmares, but he seemed better." A lie, but Ron looked as if a little weight had been taken off his shoulders, and Hermione was more than happy to carry it for him.

"Good…now get some sleep, 'Mione." He smiled at her and touched her hand softly. She knew he wanted to take it, to pull her to him, and she wouldn't have resisted. A moment passed, and Ron's face became a little flushed as he quickly grinned again and slipped past her.

Sighing, Hermione went to her room. Sleep was a treasured commodity for the girl. When she wasn't watching over Harry as he slept, she was with him and the other members of the Order. Planning. Always planning. She was blissfully grateful then, every time she was able to crawl into the makeshift bed set up for her in the Dursley's former sitting room. As she rested her head on the pillow and enjoyed the heavy feel of the blankets enveloping her, she thought about her night with Harry. Thank Merlin his room was charmed to be silent, for his tortured screams would have woken the entire house.

_"Don't do it Draco….Headmaster, I saw him on the map…the Room of Requirement…I knew…I knew…Draco…"_

Draco. Every time Harry had forced out the name, it had hit her like a physical punch in the stomach. The boy's face swam in her mind. Those grey eyes that had seen her at her weakest…had seen parts of her that even her best friends could never even imagine. The dark crevices of her mind, the shadows in her soul…those were where he lurked, waiting for something, anything, to make her remember what she would never be able to forget.

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Hermione leaned against the wall of the train for a split second as she walked away from Harry and Ron's compartment. To actually meet the boy she had read so much about over the summer…she felt a little faint at the thought. She saw Neville ahead, still searching for his toad, and felt a little lead of happiness, and then shame, at the thought that there was at least one person who seemed more out of sorts than she did.

Her stomach lurched again, something it had developed a habit of doing since she had received her Hogwarts admissions letter. She wasn't stupid, and knew she was entering a world where she, a Muggle-born, was the minority. As she had buried herself in books about this foreign universe, she realized how extensive and dangerous the prejudice she would have to face was. While she was determined to prove herself and rise above this, she knew it wouldn't be easy. Add this to her near incapability to make friends…she was better with books than with people, and knew it…and her stomach was churning.

Before she reached Neville, three boys stepped out from a compartment in front of her. The twinge of jealousy she had felt a moment before with Harry and Ron reemerged. Everyone already seemed to have friends. She hid it well, though, and inspected the boys, ready to lecture them on getting dressed as she had Harry and Ron. She knew she sounded bossy, but it was the only way she knew how to address her peers. As soon as she got a better look at the group, however, she bit her tongue. Two of the strangers were enormous, thick boys with scowls plastered on their faces. They flanked the third boy, nearly hiding him from her sight. All she could see was a flash of almost snow-white skin and sleeked back silvery gold hair. When he stepped out to face her, his eyes locked onto hers and she drew in a sharp breath. They were like the sky after a terrible storm. They stared at each other for a moment, both of their faces left unguarded. Just for a moment. Then his eyes hardened, melting from storm clouds to molten steel. His lips twisted into a sneer.

"And who are you?" His sneer deepened as he ran his eyes over her frizzy hair, her uneven teeth, and her petite frame. She felt every thing she had ever been self-conscious about come rushing back.

"Hermione Granger." Her words were steady, but she felt tears prickling the back of her eyelids.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. You must be from Muggles…I've never heard your family name. And I presume you've never heard of mine for that same reason, although I assure you, you will soon enough." His voice had inherited even more haughtiness at this revelation.

"Yeah…I'm Muggle-born."

"Figures. No pureblood would allow their appearance to be so neglected. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone I need to meet. Crabbe, Goyle." At the sound of their names, his two lackeys stopped chuckling stupidly at their leader's fun and shoved past Hermione, clearing the way for Draco. As he brushed past her, he glanced at her once more, the smirk on his lips faltering for a moment, replaced with what could only be described as surprise, as their skin touched. However, within a split second the cold returned to his features once more and he turned away, leaving Hermione with tears in her eyes and pressed up against the wall.

She had known it would be hard, but she couldn't imagine what kind of training Draco must have had to make him be that cruel. She was a firm believer in the fact that all people were inherently good…but for an eleven-year-old to be that prejudiced…she shivered as a wave of premonition passed over her. The time she was to spend in this new world wasn't going to be easy. Bracing herself, she pushed herself away from the wall and hurried over to Neville, who was barely containing himself over his toad.

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As Hermione was drifting off to sleep, Draco Malfoy was just waking up. He grimaced as he shifted away from the stick that was digging into his side through the thin blanket he was sleeping on. He heard Snape - he had ceased calling him Professor as soon as they had left school grounds, as he was quite sure the man would not be teaching at Hogwarts again – muttering as he walked out of the surrounding woods into the clearing where Draco was lying.

When Snape reached Draco he looked down at him, a grimace on his face. "Wake up. I think they suspect I know where you are, and they might have followed me."

"I thought you said you had convinced them."

"I did…but you know Bellatrix, she doesn't trust me and she's been whispering things to her Lord that I'm afraid might hurt us."

"But surely she knows if He finds me, I'm dead!"

Snape helped the boy to his feet, a sneer on his face. "Don't be so naïve, Draco…Bellatrix would sacrifice you in a moment to take my position by Voldemort's side."

Draco sighed as he looked down at himself. His usually immaculate robes were filthy, and his frame had diminished from the sleek Seeker's build it had been into a half-starved imitation. He could have hit something, but he had already done that, repeatedly, as was shown by the just-healing cuts on his knuckles. If only he had been able to say those words…those two simple words…_Avada Kedavra_…and finish the old man. Life would be so much simpler. True, Snape had done it for him, for reasons still unknown to Draco, but that wasn't good enough for the Dark Lord. He had failed, and that was more than enough reason to kill him.

Since that night, Snape had been hiding him in different places, telling Voldemort that Draco had escaped and ran off. He wasn't important enough for the Lord to spend much time looking for him, so Draco believed, but for some reason Voldemort had been enraged and had been sending parties of Death Eaters everywhere he thought Draco might go.

As for Snape, Draco was thoroughly confused. As they had been fleeing the grounds, he hadn't allowed the other Death Eaters to even wound Potter, and once they had escaped he had lapsed into angry silence, only breaking it to yell at Draco for not informing him of what he had been doing sooner. Suspicions that the boy wouldn't let rise to the surface were bubbling up…what Dumbledore had said about Snape…

_"It just so happens I trust Professor Snape…"_

At the time, Draco had scoffed, but now doubt was creeping in. Dumbledore had been a very powerful wizard, and for him to trust somebody like Snape must have taken something huge.

Snape grabbed his arm, leading him into the thick branches that surrounded their little clearing. Draco was lost in thought about the fateful night as they struggled through the branches, going to a destination only Snape knew.

_"Draco, Draco, you are not a killer…You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts…so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it."_

Draco winced as a branch whipped his face and realized his long fingers were trembling. He could still feel the panic as Dumbledore's words had caused him. He had to do it. He had worked all year for this…Voldemort would have him killed…would have his family slaughtered.

_"You are afraid to act until they join you."_

_"It's you who should be scared!"_

_"But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not as easy as the innocent believe…"_

That word…innocent. Draco had let Death Eaters in to his school, had almost killed two of his fellow classmates, including that horrible Weasley, and Dumbledore was calling him innocent. It had hit him like a ton of bricks. This was his last moment of true innocence. He was leaving his childhood behind tonight. He could never go back. He could never return to the days where he had been finally happy. He had ruined that. He kept his composure, though, drawing strength from the fact that Dumbledore was praising him on his plan and was weakening. He had done it. Voldemort would bring him to his front ranks, he would be the youngest to be so close to the Dark Lord…it was what he had been raised to do and he was finally going to do it. He would finally make his father proud.

_"I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger as well."_

As soon as the word slipped out, Draco had felt his stomach clench. He had never been able to stop using it, even when... Thinking about her made him squeeze his eyes shut, willing the memories to disappear. Yes, he had forsaken his happier days.

_"Please do not use that offensive word in front of me."_

_"You care about me saying 'Mudblood' when I'm about to kill you?"_

It was something she would have cared about. No. He wouldn't think about her.

_"Let us discuss your options, Draco."_

Shock. There were no options…how dare he say there were options? As Snape quickened his pace, Draco's mouth drew in a thin line as he clenched his teeth. He wanted to stop the next part of the memory, the part that haunted him day and night.

_"I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!"_

His mother, with her slender frame…the one who would stand up for him against his father. The one who was so fragile, so beautiful…the one who didn't want this fate for her son but wasn't able to stop it.

_"I can help you, Draco."_

"_No, you can't. Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."_

"_He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise…Come over to the right side, Draco…you are not a killer."_

_"You're at my mercy…"_

_"No, Draco, it is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."_

And his wand had dropped…he wouldn't have gone through with it, Draco knew that now. There had been a way out. He would have been safe. And then the Death Eaters had arrived, and were yelling at him to do it. Fenrir Greyback, with his promises to eat Draco's classmates…the entire world had been blurred and he hadn't been able to stop shaking. All his thoughts of courage and greatness were gone, replaced with fear and doubt. Then Snape had come…

_"Severus…Severus…please…"_

Dumbledore had been pleading. And then Snape had killed him, without a second thought. They had fled, Snape had screamed at him to run…and Draco did. When Snape had grabbed his arm, the hippogriff screeching behind him and Disapparated, Draco had blacked out. What had he done?

"Draco! Snap out of it, boy, and look at me."

Draco slowly clawed his way out of the terrible memory and gazed at Snape, who was standing in front of him, a harsh expression etched in his face. "Sorry, Severus."

"Where were you?"

Draco didn't answer, opting to stare at the ground instead.

"Fine." The lines eased out of his former professor's face and he gestured to the house in front of him. "This is a house I purchased out of the funds granted to me by your father before he went to prison in case you ever needed anything you couldn't buy yourself…the Dark Lord doesn't know where it is, and you will be safe here…for now. I think I know a way to get you back into his good graces, but we need to meet with some associates of mine before that happens so you know exactly where you stand. There are many things you do not know, Draco, and you must be taught them before you are able to return to the Death Eaters…do you understand?"

Draco stared at the house in front of him. It was small and dirty…completely unsuitable for a Malfoy. But Snape's claims sounded promising, and so he let a small smile grace his stony face.

"Understood."

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"Hermione!"

Strong hands where shaking her, and for a moment Hermione almost let _his_ name graze her lips. Red hair seeped into her consciousness just in time, however, and she bolted to a sitting position. "What is it?"

"Snape's back." Ron's face was ghostly pale beneath his freckles.

All sleepiness left her and Hermione sprung out of bed, hastily pulling a sweater over her nightclothes. "What?!"

"He just walked right up to the door, Tonks answered it and had him at wandpoint in about three seconds. Lupin, Moody, my parents, and Harry are downstairs with him now…they all have their wands out and he handed his over, but we wanted you there before we let him start talking."

As he talked, they rushed downstairs. The Dursleys were in the living room, pointedly talking about the weather, and Hermione flew by them without a second glance. There, in the kitchen, she saw him. His greasy black hair and hooknose made her want to scream…he had killed Dumbledore. She looked over at Harry, who was red in the face and clenching his jaw, green fire dancing in his eyes.

Snape looked at her. Straight at her. She felt him enter her mind through Legilimency, and was about to scream, but quickly the words formed and she shut her mouth with a snap.

_I know, Hermione…I know what Draco knows…_

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A/N: Please review! I'd like to hear what you guys think of this concept…it's exceedingly difficult to write because I have to be constantly checking facts, so I need to know if this is worth following through! Thanks for reading!!


	2. Together and Alone

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! They help motivate me so much!

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Chapter Two

Together and Alone

Holding her to him was the only time he could let it all go and let the person he had become fade. Her hair, that hair he had laughed about so many times and now couldn't live without, smelled of cocoa and silk. She was his dream, slipping away when he wasn't with her, but so completely real when he was.

He watched her walk down the hallway from his corner, her books clutched to herself as she hurried back from the library. He knew she wouldn't protest…she felt, in all her annoyingly perfect heart, that she could comfort him and therefore it was her duty to do so. He couldn't tell her what he was doing. He was ruining her, trying to bring people in the school who would attempt and probably succeed in killing her. He had to.

Grabbing her as she passed, he smiled at the startled gasp she gave. He pressed his lips to hers and her gasp melted at the familiar and yet foreign gesture. They could hate each other at day, plan to hurt each other, make war…but at night she was his and he was hers. It could not be any other way.

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Draco woke up with a start. He was on a moth-eaten bedspread thrown over a small, hard mattress and there was a hand on his shoulder. Twisting around, he half expected to see Voldemort's glowing eyes, or possibly his father's stony ones. Instead, he saw Snape's black, glittering orbs.

"My business has been taken care of." The man paused and Draco could see indecision inching across his face. "Draco…I am about to tell you something that you may never repeat. I think of you as a son and I pray that you respect me enough to grant me this wish." The light in the dingy one-room house was filtering through a tattered curtain, and shadows danced across Snape's face.

"Of course." Draco was as Slytherin as they come, and so was Snape. They both knew that trust was something nearly unattainable in their world. But Snape had saved Draco's life, and for that the younger boy would always be in his debt.

Snape pulled Draco to his feet. "Draco…before your mother came to me asking me to protect you, somebody else did the same thing. At the time, I refused his conditions, saying only that I would protect you from immediate harm."

An unnamable feeling was slithering up Draco's spine. Somehow he knew that this was going to be a turning point in his life and in his relationship with his mentor. "Who?"

"Dumbledore. I made an Unbreakable Vow with him as well as with your mother. He told me that I had to protect you no matter what, along with my position in the Order of the Pheonix."

"You…you're position?"

"I am spying on the Dark Lord for the Order…I have been for years. It is crucial to have someone on the inside, and I-"

Draco fell into the chair sitting by the lone table in the middle of the dim room. "Wait…just wait. Why?"

"I thought long ago that I agreed with the Death Eaters and their mission. I was wrong. I realized this when our 'Lord' broke a promise to me." There was a pause as Draco took this in. "Nobody in the Order knew of our agreement. As you wouldn't tell me what you were doing, we didn't want to put you in jeopardy, because if any of the other members had found out, there was a chance you may have been put at risk. When the time came, I kept my word to Dumbledore. Even though I still don't know how we are going to win this war without him."

"Why did the old man want me safe?"

"Dumbledore is a very wise and very secretive man. I was never his biggest fan, but I have more respect for him than I do for anybody else…you were a student in his school, Draco. Because of that simple fact, he would do anything to keep you safe. Even more than that, he saw something in you that he wanted to preserve."

"What?"

"You're smart. You're cunning. You may not always get the best grades in the class…"

_No. She did. Always her. Don't think about her._

"…But you are very manipulative. And manipulation can be used for both good and evil. Remember that as I tell you what must be done."

"I'm not just going to give up on my beliefs, Severus."

"I am not asking you to. I admit to hoping that maybe someday you will change your mind. I can see hope in you yet…possibly with help you can be saved from following in your father's footsteps."

Anger began to sear through Draco like poison. As calmly as he could manage, he tried to explain how horribly wrong Snape was. "I don't need to change. Muggles aren't worth changing for. I hate them and I always will. They are polluting our blood, and need to be stopped. I know this, and I know we can do it. Mudbloods are going to ruin our society…we earned the right for magic throughout thousands of years, and what are we going to do? Give it up, share it with those who don't deserve it?! No!"

"All Mudbloods are bad, then, Draco?" Snape's cool voice stabbed into his mind.

_He knows…No! He can't!_

"Yes." He held his breath as he met Snape's penetrating gaze, only letting it go once his opponent had looked away. No one must ever know. He hadn't been able to control himself…it had been his weakness.

"Again, I hope one day you will realize just how wrong that can be, as I did. For now, I am taking you to the Order's current headquarters." Snape held up a finger before Draco could protest. "It is the only place you will be safe for a long period of time. I fear word of this house has gotten out. I do not expect you to become a member of the Order, but I will make sure they do not harm you until we can figure out a way to get you back to a place where you will be happy."

Draco nodded his head, accepting his fate. For now.

"Good. Let's go."

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As Filch walked them out to the gamekeeper's hut, Draco couldn't help but sneak glances at the dark forest. Potter, Granger, and that stupid Longbottom kid were next to him, looking positively delighted that they would be spending their detention with yet another teacher who doted on them. He cursed himself mentally for even attempting to get them caught with Hagrid's dragon. Of course things would work out for Potter and Co. Even if they had gotten detention with him, they had managed to get the dragon out and were going to be with their favorite giant.

Filch also seemed to be noticing their good mood. "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy – it's into the forest you're going…"

Filch's voice faded out as terror filled Draco, scrambling his thoughts. Not the forest…anywhere but there. Not again.

_Hooded capes, masked faces…_

He hadn't even noticed that he'd stopped dead in his tracks. "The forest? We can't go in there – there's all sorts of things in there –" _Death. Red eyes. _He tried to shake himself out of it. "- werewolves, I heard."

Hagrid soon joined them, coming out of the darkness like some sort of monster. He doted on Potter and his friends, but all Draco could think of was his absolute determination not to go any further.

"I'm not going into that forest." He could hear the panic in his voice, and anger joined it when he saw Potter's grinning face. As if the Boy Wonder had any idea of the sort of things that happened in darkened forests.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts. Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

Draco wanted to scream at him that his so-called "wrong" was nothing compared to what Hagrid had done himself, raising a dragon on school grounds, but held his tongue. What did he care, anyway? It was gone now, an opportunity to get the dumb oaf fired and the Potter crew expelled at last, shot to hell. And now this. He had to get out of it.

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd –" _What? Join me? Force me to watch again, and again…to ignore the screams? It makes me stronger…_

He tried to argue more, but it was to no avail. As they walked closer to the woods, Draco's head was reeling with memories. He tried to push them aside as the gamekeeper explained that they were looking for an injured unicorn that had been bleeding in the forest. Hagrid paired them off, and Draco went with Longbottom and the dog, Fang.

Twisted trees half illuminated by the moon seemed to reach out at them as they passed them in silence. Longbottom was whimpering pitifully and Draco scowled, his white knuckles the only visible indication of his fear.

_Laughter was coming from behind the masks. He had to be strong. His father was watching him, looking for any sign of weakness. He wouldn't give in. _

A slithering sound came from the bushes next to them, and Longbottom squeaked. Draco gritted his teeth, his mind spinning wildly with repressed terror, and his eyes glaring at the back of the annoying boy's head. As if he knew what true fear was. A small grin played at the silver-haired boy's face, and he crept up behind Longbottom, ready to give him a little taste.

With a sudden movement, he darted up and grabbed his companion. The plump boy screamed and sent up red sparks with his wand. Laughter bubbled up, but Draco stopped as soon as it left his lips, realizing how much it sounded like the laughter all around him that night.

He heard Hagrid before he saw him, crashing through the bushes with the grace of a troll. When the huge man finally reached them and found out what had happened, he growled and led them back to Potter and Granger. Soon Draco was off with Potter, as the boy could apparently hold his own better than the quivering little Longbottom.

As the boys walked together, Draco stared, transfixed, at the silver blood that was splashed all over the ground and trees. The moonlight danced on it, making it flash with a life of its own. Then the unicorn came into view in a small clearing. Its legs were delicately sprawled out, and its dead eyes stared at nothing.

He stood there with Potter in a rare moment of shared emotion. Horror at the sight was only increased as a hooded creature emerged from the black forest.

_The hooded men were here. Ready to torture their victims as they hung helplessly and grotesquely in the air. His father was here, ready to make Draco watch. Ready to show his son what he would someday be doing when he was old enough. They were Muggles, taken in the cover of night, never to be missed by anybody who could expose the Death Eaters. The forest was the mask that would hide these shadow creatures until they could rejoin their Lord. Because he was not dead…the men knew, in their hearts, and they could all feel the red eyes that would soon shine on them once again. _

_I can feel them now…piercing into me…_

Draco felt the terror consume him, and when the hooded figure bent down to drink from the unicorn's carcass, he did what he never could when his father was with him. He screamed. Shame crept up, but was immediately killed by pure, white-hot fear. _They were coming for him._

He tore through the forest, panic chasing him, making him blind. When he ran into her, he was caught completely off guard. That's why when he clutched onto her to keep from falling over he felt such a shock go through him. That why he started gasping out his terrified ramblings. Yes. That's why.

"They…they're here. They're here to make me…to make me watch again. My father…my father's here…The Dark Lord…he's coming."

"Draco!" He looked into Granger's face, and the dark cloud the fear had enveloped him with cleared a little. She was alone. "Draco, I heard you scream…is Harry alright? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is here?!"

Reason began to creep in. "No…he's dead. He's dead."

"Harry's dead?!" Hermione's face paled, and her eyes were wide with horror.

He tried to calm himself more, but could still hear his heart beating…he couldn't hear his own thoughts. What had he truly just seen? "No…Potter's alive, as far as I know."

"Malfoy, what's going on? Why did you say your father was here?"

_Shit_. "I was confused, Granger." He straightened, his need to get out of the forest still overpowering his other senses. "But something is back there with Potter, get Hagrid. I have to get out."

"Malfoy…are you sure you're okay?"

He looked at her then, and got a jolt of surprise when he saw that her eyes actually held concern. "I'm fine. You need to find your little Potter, he could be dead by now for all I know…"

_Tortured, bloody eyes open forever, staring at him, accusing even in death. No. That was then…it couldn't happen again. _

But it would…that was his future. And here he was, grasping onto some stupid, sentimental Mudblood. _Bloody hell. _

"Don't talk about this to anyone, Granger." They looked at each other for a moment longer.

"I won't"

He turned and ran, heard her call out to Hagrid and a moment later, with relief in her voice, to Harry.

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Hermione paced anxiously. _Snape knows…shit, shit, shit…he's bringing him here…_

Ron was watching her as she went back in forth in the living room, but Harry just sat on the plush couch with his head in his hands. After Snape had left, the Trio had moved into this room by themselves, causing the Dursleys to move out with hurried exclamations to each other about where else they needed to be.

"Do you believe him?" Ron directed the question at Harry.

"I think we have to…I mean…Dumbledore did trust him."

"Dumbledore is – was – a very trusting person. Maybe he misjudged Snape."

Hermione turned the events of the last few hours over in her mind while she listened to her two best friends argue. Snape had told them about how he and Dumbledore had made an Unbreakable Vow over the summer before their sixth year, when Snape had learned of plans for Draco to kill the headmaster. This vow forced Snape to agree to protect both Draco and the illusion that he was a spy for Voldemort no matter what the cost. Even if it meant killing Dumbledore himself.

Soon, Narcissa Malfoy had approached Snape with almost the exact same request to protect her son, and he had made a second Unbreakable Vow. Throughout the year, he had tried to find out what Draco had been doing, but with no avail.

_Oh, Merlin…Draco…why did you do it? Why couldn't I save you?_

Agony made Hermione's stomach churn. All the time they had spent together in secret, dark corners…and yet Draco had fallen. Harry's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Hermione? What do you think?"

She chose her words carefully. "The proof was with Fawkes, I believe." When the Order had asked Snape how he could prove what he was saying, he had closed his eyes and muttered under his breath, and to everyone's disbelief Fawkes had almost immediately appeared, gliding through the house with his fiery presence. "He was completely, totally devoted to Dumbledore, and I don't believe he would show the same loyalty to Snape unless he was telling the truth. As much as I want to believe that Snape is the evil person we are constantly pegging him as, I don't think he is. He mentioned that him and Dumbledore had an understanding, and Dumbledore told you that he had a reason to trust Snape. I don't know if we'll ever know what that reason is, but I think it made Snape turn his back on V-Voldemort." She still stumbled over the name, a fact she was a little ashamed of. She finally sat down, wringing her hands and watching her friend's reactions to her speech. Ron was red-faced but accepting, and Harry was calm, his green eyes smoldering.

"Yeah…but he's going to have to prove himself. And with more than Dumbledore's phoenix."

Both Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement, stopping suddenly when there was a knock on the door. The concealment charms on the house were as meticulous as the ones at the House of Black (which explained why the Dursleys never received visitors anymore, although they were oblivious to the fact) so only people that the Order knew were coming or who had, in Snape's case, Dumbledore's lasting blessing, could find the house.

"That must be them." Hermione's heart was in her throat. She was about to see him.

Harry went to the door, and Moody, Tonks, and Lupin appeared out of the kitchen. Aunt Petunia ventured halfway down the stairs, only to retreat with a dark look on her face when Harry opened the door to reveal someone besides her gossip partners, who she was constantly, and unfoundedly, afraid would come by to say hello.

Snape walked through the door, and following him came the pale boy that had haunted Hermione's dreams. His eyes locked onto hers, and she swayed a little as cold excitement passed through her. Memories of stolen moments crept into her mind as she stared at Draco. Secret kisses, dangerous caresses…that was what their relationship had been. But he hadn't changed, and neither had she. They were still on opposite sides, and always would be. They would protect him, as she had tried to, but in the end, he would never be her Draco, but a Malfoy. He would return to the Death Eaters and try to kill her and her kind.

She broke their gaze as tears prickled at her eyes, daring her to let them spill over. No, she wouldn't let him see her cry.

"Malfoy." Harry's voice was cold. "Welcome." Hermione nearly laughed, albeit bitterly. No, Draco was certainly not welcome here, by any means.

"Potter."

"Don't try anything funny, Malfoy…"

"Of course not, Weasley…" If she had the courage to look at him, Hermione was sure the old sneer would be back on his face. Ron seemed to notice Hermione's distress and walked over to her, putting his arm gently around her shoulders in the way that would be simply friendly if it had been Harry but always seemed to be tainted with something more when from Ron.

Hermione looked up fiercely to see Draco staring at the two of them with dark, icy eyes. She glanced over at Snape, who was watching his godson with interest. _Show them nothing. _

"Hello, Malfoy."

Draco ignored her, turning away without a second look. Ron squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at him, rolling her eyes to seem unaffected, when in reality it felt as if a large, steel brick had lodged itself in her stomach.

Biting her lip, Hermione realized that this was going to be a very long journey.

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Author's Note: Please Review! It's just one little click and it helps soooo much with inspiration, I promise...


	3. Eternal Enemies

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait, thanks for the reviews that are still leaking in!

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Chapter 3  
Eternal Enemies

Sitting out by the Quidditch pitch watching Harry practice was never Hermione's favorite thing to do, but her dislike of the endeavor only increased when she looked up from her book to see the Slytherin team march haughtily onto the field where Harry's team was supposed to be practicing.

Ron tensed beside her and she looked at him carefully, noticing the way the lines around his eyes deepened as he frowned. A little butterfly in her stomach started flying around and she allowed a small smile to form as his ears reddened. She loved when he got riled up, as long as it wasn't at her. Her feelings for Ron weren't strong enough to act on, but she knew they were there and was curious to see what might develop out of them.

Turning her attention back to the two teams, she could see that nothing was going to get accomplished very quickly. Suddenly, she noticed a flash of white, and saw Draco Malfoy emerge from the throng. A knot formed in her throat as she remembered the year before, when he had clutched onto her in the woods, shaking and almost in tears. Ron and Harry had later laughed over his scream in the woods, but she had kept silent. That boy had seen more than they would probably ever know.

"Come on, 'Mione. I want to go see what's going on." Ron leapt up and she followed him, apprehension tightening her fists. Ron never seemed to deescalate situations, and his temper tended to make things worse.

She heard the Slytherin captain, a big bloke named Marcus Flint, before they even reached the boys. "Oh, look, a field invasion."

"What's happening?" Ron addressed Harry, but Hermione only had eyes for Malfoy, whose expression had flickered from its smirking, cold stone for a moment when he saw her. Nobody else noticed. He turned back to Harry quickly, his face returning to normal. "Why aren't you playing?" Ron continued, "And what's _he_ doing here?"

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley. Everyone has just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."

As Ron stared at the brooms, Hermione felt a small twinge of pity for him. He hated the fact his family wasn't well off, and Malfoy knew exactly how to push his buttons. The other members of the Weasley family, Fred and George, were his next targets.

"Good, aren't they? But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."

As the Slytherin team howled, Hermione looked at the pain barely showing on the Weasley twins' faces. She snapped. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in. _They_ got in on pure talent." She knew it would hurt him, and when he raised his eyes to meet hers and the smug look on his face shifted, she knew there was more to his hurt than he let on.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

The world seemed to pause for a split second. Something in Malfoy's eyes was dangerous, and a strange sensation swept over Hermione. She had never heard the term before, but something about the word 'Mudblood' made cold fear and hurt sickly course through her body. She couldn't look away from Malfoy, and the people yelling around her seemed to be in slow motion.

Ron's wand was pointed at Malfoy, and that dimly registered in her brain. Their eyes finally disconnected as Malfoy's slid over to Ron. The trance was broken, and Hermione looked over just in time to see Ron fly backward as his wand, barely repaired from a break earlier in the year, backfired. A different sort of fear rose within her and combined with the sick dread already there, and she ran toward him.

Just as he was about to speak, a huge slug came out of his mouth. Disgust, and shameful amusement replaced the fear in Hermione, and she all but forgot what it felt like. The Slytherins were laughing behind her, and she shot them all glares, helping Ron up. Harry joined her in supporting him and they limped off the field. Before turning off the pitch, Hermione glanced behind her right more, seeking what she knew would be there – a pair of gray eyes, glaring at her from behind the mask of the laughing Malfoy.

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Hermione woke up, a thin veil of sweat covering her body. She dreamt about that moment more often than she would like – the moment he had first called her a Mudblood. The moment she first heard the word that defined her in the eyes of hundreds of Voldemort's followers. The word that would forever be the wedge that kept them enemies.

A knock on her door startled her. She slowly walked toward it, biting her lip. It wouldn't be him – he didn't want to see her. Opening the door, she held her breath.

"It's your turn Hermione. I gotta go to bed."

She released her breathe in a sigh. It was Ron. Not that she was unhappy to see him, but…

_It's not Draco._

No! She forced herself to run her eyes over Ron's warm features, his tousled hair and tired grin. He began to blush as he noticed her scrutiny, and she smiled softly at him. She closed the door behind her, taking a step closer to Ron, expecting him to move out of the way. He didn't, and she ended up pressed against his broad chest in a manner more intimate than she had ever been with her friend. She looked up at him quickly, and noticed with a start the way his kind eyes were gazing down. Her heart was beating as if she had just run a mile, and she found herself unable to speak. Out of love? Nerves? She couldn't tell.

"Hermione…I…" He started to speak, and Hermione felt his words rumble in his chest. _I've only been this close to one other person before…_

A soft noise interrupted Ron. The click of a door opening. They both sharply looked down the hallway, and saw Draco lean out of the room him and Snape shared. There was supposed to be a guard outside that door at all times – that was what Ron had been waking her for. The Order was guarding everything these days, one shift after another. Harry, the house, and now_ him_.

Draco stopped in his tracks, his steely eyes running over the two figures pressed so intimately together. He finally met her eyes, and a thousand things to say came to her mind – all that would hurt Ron. She kept her lips firmly closed. Draco turned and went back into his room.

Hermione looked back up at Ron. "I better go get in position." She tried to make her voice light, but tears were prickling viciously at the back of her eyes. She wanted to love Ron, she did love him, but not in the way she felt about Draco.

Ron grinned, and stepped away from her. "Right." There was disappointment in his eyes, but another thought as well – _another time. _Eventually he would say what he felt for her, and she didn't know what she would do when that time came.

He finally stepped away into the shadows, and Hermione went and leaned against Draco's door. He was in there – the boy that had taken over her thoughts and dreams every moment for so long. She had almost convinced herself that he was dead, that Voldemort had killed him. But now here he was, alive and so close. She slid down to the floor, letting tears make their silent paths down her cheeks. She could feel him on the other side of the door and her entire body ached to throw it open and grab him, try again to erase his pain and make him realize that he could love her no matter what her blood was.

_He is the reason Dumbledore is dead. He almost killed Katie. Ron. He will never be good. _

She wanted to scream. Then the doorknob turned.

Her entire body froze. The door creaked behind her, and she could feel it pressing against her back. He was trying to open it. Blood pounded in her ears as she realized this fact. Slowly she leaned forward and stood up, freeing the door. As he walked out, clad in a simple black robe, she steadied herself against the wall behind her. It was if she was seeing him for the first time since Hogwarts. This was how they knew each other, alone in the night. He looked exactly the same as he had those few months ago, albeit thinner.

They stared at each other for a moment, troubled eyes meeting haunted ones. What had he been through that he had never spoken to her about? Why did he condemn himself? So many questions, but Hermione couldn't speak.

It seemed like an eternity before the silence was broken. "Granger."

Her last name stung her, but she didn't show it. "Malfoy."

"So you and the Weasel, huh? Hope that's going well for you."

She wanted to slap him. All this time, and he had to act like a child again, with nicknames and petty jealousy. "Shut up, Draco."

He looked away from her, fury evident in his movement. "Don't call me that. That is over now. You are Granger…and I am Malfoy. You're a Mudblood, and I am a future Death Eater. You must know I am only here until I can rejoin Voldemort without him killing me. I am not like Snape – I am not a traitor."

Leaden weight settled in Hermione's chest, and anger burned through her. He would never change. She knew that, always had known that, but it hadn't stopped her from hoping. "Get back in your room then, Malfoy."

He glanced up again, and there was a moment where Hermione could feel the electricity coming from him. He stepped toward her, took a position so similar to the one she had just been in with Ron, and yet with him it wasn't even close to the same. She could feel his heat, could smell him, and it made memories and desires race through her head painfully. His eyes were glinting in the way they always did when they were this close to each other. Then he turned abruptly and slammed the door closed.

Shaking, Hermione took her place on the ground against the door again. She wouldn't let him get to her. Not this time.

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Draco walked sullenly through the halls of Hogwarts after he finished eating, looking at the paintings and sneering at them. Stupid, idiotic things, really…nothing like the grand sculptures and portraits at the mansion. He ran a hand over his slicked back hair, grimacing. He hated wearing his hair like that, but it was what his father wanted, at least until he completed his third year. The thought of his father sent a small thrill of fear through him. The past summer had been one of the worst…Potter's little stunt with freeing Dobby had been taken out on Draco. Lucius barely ever hit him physically, but instead used words to cut through his son. And when it did get physical, blood was spilled. Oh, well. That's how it had always been.

A loud noise startled him, and he turned to see the Mudblood Granger storming away from the Great Hall, and coming towards him. He had managed to pretty much avoid all contact with her this year, paying her no attention while he had his fun with Potter and the Weasel. Not that it was very far into the year – he knew he would run into her eventually. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him, and they simply looked at each other for a moment. Looking her over, he noticed the tiniest details, it was important to be able to read people – or so his father had always told him.

Her bag was abnormally full, and her entire body was tensed as if to spring at him at any moment. Her eyes were fiery, and he doubted it was all because of him. Ever since he first called her a Mudblood, her eyes held more hurt than fury while looking at him. It was a fact he was rather smug about, as he felt he had the upper hand. Looking at her now, though, he felt something completely different. The way she could get so riled up – it was interesting. Like a wild animal, perhaps.

"What's got your knickers in twist, Granger?"

"None of your business, Malfoy. Just get out of my way." She tried to walk past him, but for some reason he didn't want her to leave.

"Weasley getting to you again, eh?" She stopped, stunned. "Oh, don't think I don't notice the way you two bicker." He leaned in close, trying not to be repulsed by her very presence. Surprisingly, it was easier than he expected. "I notice _everything_, Mudblood."

She jumped back, and he looked into her eyes again, searching for the hurt to reappear. It didn't. Instead the anger increased, flushing her cheeks. He took a sharp breath, certain she was going to hit him. Instead she just turned and began to walk away.

Turning around again, she appraised him. "I pity you, Malfoy."

Then she was gone. He stood alone for a few moments, and then returned to the Great Hall, rejoining the Slytherins he had been trying to avoid by leaving. These were his people. They looked up to him. Worshiped him, even. No pity was present here, and that's the way he wanted it.

The next day, as he was walking to the ground keeper's hut for his Care of Magical Creatures class, he couldn't keep his mind off Granger. He kept up his appearance, making his two idiotic lackeys chuckle delightedly about Potter, but he couldn't truly concentrate on what he was saying. Not that the oafs would notice, of course.

The lesson began without too much excitement, although he did get a few chances to make fun of Hagrid, whom he looked forward to tormenting all year. Hermione kept sending him glares, and the attention just got him more into his act.

"God, this place is going to the dogs…" He looked over at Hermione, who was flushed red with anger. It was a good look for her. Not that she would ever be good-looking with that dirty blood, of course.

As they came across the strange creatures Hagrid had for them, Malfoy could barely concentrate on what the giant had to say. Hippogriffs, apparently, were supposed to be interesting, but Draco just wanted to create more of a ruckus. Get that nice red color a little darker, maybe. He only stopped his plotting to watch as Potter mounted one of the hippogriffs. Disappointed when it didn't throw him off, he just rolled his eyes.

Then it was his turn. He walked up, imitated Potter by bowing to the animal, and then started patting the beak. Well, that was easy. Granger was now preoccupied with something else, so he started mocking the animal to get her attention again. Suddenly, pain shot up his arm and blood started gushing out.

_Lucius is here. He's attacking me. _

He screamed, shouted he was dying, and reason returned. Lucius wasn't here. It was that stupid animal. He felt huge arms wrap around him, and lift him up. As they passed by the gate, he noticed Granger was holding it open. Her face was very white now, and they locked eyes. Hers held pity. Again.

He would make that pity go away. He would make her hate him just to never see that look again. His mind raced, and he looked up to see Hagrid. Ah. That was it. He would use this incident to its full advantage, get the oaf fired, and then all pity would at last be gone at last.

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_Hermione. _

He couldn't say her name out loud. It signified that they were friends, that they were more than enemies. But they couldn't be. They had always been enemies, even when they were alone, caressing each other in the night. It was the proper order of things.

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Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the wait, I've been working a lot and just haven't had the time to get into this. But I do now!

To Readers of Go To The Devil: Again, sorry for the wait, but I want to assure you that I am not giving up on this story. However, it is on hold until after the 7th book comes out because I want to finish this one before that event happens, and I don't have much time (which is a good thing haha)

Please Review! It doesn't take long and it makes me very, very happy to see people are still interested!


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